Road fatalities down across Ontario

Ahead of a national safety campaign, the O.P.P. says Ontario roads are seeing fewer fatalities.

Although there are still several months left to the year, the O.P.P. is reporting that so far this year, Ontario roads have seen 39 fewer fatalities than this time last year. According to Ontario’s police force, between January 1st and May 5th, there have been 58 fatalities, whereas last year there were 97 in the same time frame.

Of all the fatalities this year, the O.P.P. says that 45 per cent of them were linked to alcohol, drugs, inattentive driving, and lack of seatbelt. Last year, those same factors were linked to 53 per cent. Despite the drop in fatalities, the O.P.P. is issuing a warning that poor driving behaviour could bring those numbers right back up.

Police forces across the country are launching the Canada Road Safety Week tomorrow. The O.P.P. say that officers will be “highly visible in their efforts to keep roads safe, but they are hoping to see road users achieve this goal on their own rather than through enforcement. ”

Canada Road Safety Week is an annual enforcement and education-driven initiative led by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police that aims to increase public compliance with safe driving and reduce injuries and save lives on our roads.